When it comes to skin vs gravity, you'd be forgiven for assuming the outcome is a forgone conclusion (even with the best skincare arsenal at your disposal). But, according to the experts, there are in fact three distinct ways our faces surrender to time. Enter the 'sinker', 'sagger' and 'wrinkler'; unofficial classification terms used to describe different patterns of facial ageing. Spoiler alert; I'm a sinker. So far, so depressing, or so you may think. But maybe there's something empowering about knowing how we are going to age in order to take back some agency, even if it just means investing in a few chic rollnecks for our golden years? After all, knowledge is power, right?
Sinker, sagger or wrinkler?
According to journalist and author Alice Hart-Davis who founded 'The Tweakments Guide', one of the factors an aesthetic practitioner will assess is whether a patient is a sinker, a sagger or a wrinkler. But what exactly does that mean? Speaking to aesthetic doctor Dr. David Jack, Hart-Davis explains that if your face is losing volume – like a slowly deflating balloon – you're a 'sinker'. If your skin appears to be sliding away from your bone structure, you're a 'sagger'. And the 'wrinkler' speaks for itself. Not that one type is better or worse. "It's simply the result of how our genes – combined with our lifestyle choices – play out over time in our faces," says Hart-Davis. "It's not something to stress about. We are as we are."
Call me 'sinker'
I immediately identify as a 'sinker', a theory later confirmed when I meet oculoplastic surgeon duo and founders of facerestoration.com, Dr. Rachna Murthy and Dr. Jonathan Roos. As they walk me through their latest laser technology, I can't help musing (as you do when you have a captive audience of doctors to regale symptoms to) that my eye sockets seem to be ageing me ahead of schedule (it turns out sinking is not relegated to the cheeks).
So, what’s going on beneath the surface? "Collagen suspends our fat pads to our bones keeping everything in place," explains Professor Roos. "As we age, the collagen fibrils stretch and weaken, and the fat pads – particularly the malar pad beneath the tear trough – descend." The result? Four tell-tale signs of ageing: deeper nasolabial folds, marionette lines, jowling and, in some people, lower lid eye bags can begin to show. Gravity: 1, Skin: 0. But is this really a battle worth fighting?
© Getty ImagesAgeing gracefully?
Getting older is a privilege as Mark Twain (and Drew Barrymore) have reminded us, yet women are still subjected to a barrage of commentary about how well we're deemed to be ageing - 'gracefully' being the ever-elusive benchmark. And when faced with Kris Jenner-style face-overs, it's hard not to wonder what, if anything, we should be doing about it? From a sinker's perspective, "facelift surgery is an option but often unnecessary for early changes and carries with it risks," says Professor Roos. "We prefer to stimulate collagen production to gradually lift facial fat pads over time."
His treatment of choice is HarmonyCa - a bio-stimulatory injection that works over several months to encourage the body's own cells to rebuild structure. This can be combined with a touch of skin tightening via UltraClear rapid recovery laser. But as ever, prevention beats cure; "Regular Botox can reduce the downward pull of the muscles responsible for negative expressions delaying the need for more invasive treatments," says Roos. "Supporting the skin's microbiome is also key. By calming inflammation, we reduce facial puffiness and water retention, lightening the load, quite literally." As for gravity? "We can't eliminate it," he admits, "but by reducing inflammation, boosting collagen and strategically using Botox, we can deliver results comparable to a facelift at a fraction of the cost and virtually no downtime."
Call it high-tech slow ageing – and a much more palatable prospect than the reported £100,000 Kris spent in pursuit of timelessness. Because ultimately, whether you're a sinker, a sagger or a wrinkler, time will leave its mark, and the trick is learning to face it – quite literally – with a little more grace.
